Prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems in rural left-behind children aged 3 to 5 years and related factors
Zhou Yuming
Qi Yanjie
Zhang Zhixia
He Fan
Zheng Yi
Abstract：Objective To investigate the prevalence and related factors of emotional and behavioral problems in rural left-behind children aged 3 to 5 years. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted to investigate the prevalence of emotional and behavioral abnormalities among 5 050 children aged 3 to 5 years in 27 poverty-stricken counties of 12 provinces across China using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results The prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems in left-behind children was 13.3% (140/1 046), and that of non-left-behind children was 14.7% (590/4 005). There was no statistical difference between the two groups (χ2=1.237,P=0.266). The prevalence of peer association abnormalities in the left-behind children group was 5.0% (52/1 046) lower than that in the non-left-behind group (7.2%,287/4 005), and there was a statistical difference (χ2=6.732,P=0.012). Logistic regression analysis showed that the primary caregivers agreed that corporal punishment increased the risk of emotional and behavioral problems in left-behind children (OR=1.655, 95%CI=1.121-2.444). Conclusions There is no difference in the prevalence of behavioral problems between left-behind children and non-left-behind children aged 3 to 5 years. Supporting corporal punishment increases the risk of emotional and behavioral problems in left-behind children.
Keywords：Rural areasLeft-behind childrenEmotionsBehavior
Publication Date：2019-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 766-771 )